originally published May 1, 2008. Updated with new photo via deposit photos @bhofack 5/15

Day 122.

My oh my, what a tasty bird this was! I had a frozen chicken that I thawed for a few days in the fridge and plopped it whole into the crockpot. I did make a whole chicken earlier in the year, that was delicious, but this guy had an awesome moist, lemony garlic flavor that made my knees go a bit weak.

And it was so easy!

The Ingredients.

--one thawed and skinned whole chicken. It wasn't as gross for me this time! yay! But I'm not pregnant, so if you are and are prone to pukeage, be forewarned...

--head of garlic

--2 lemons (yeah, those are lemons. I tried to find yellow ones, and even went outside at 3:30am (I had insomnia) with a flashlight to find riper ones, and nearly scared the neighbors cat bald, but could only find green guys. They still tasted okay.)--salt and pepper--a bunch of fresh rosemary (this is from my mom's garden. hi, mom! thanks for the rosemary!)

The Directions.

After you skin the chicken and keep from puking, rub it inside and out with a bunch of salt and pepper.

Plop it into the crockpot.

Peel your garlic and shove a bunch of the whole cloves into the bird cavity and throw some more on top and around the chicken.

Slice the lemon and put slices on top, around, and inside the bird

Wash the rosemary and do the same. If you are using dried rosemary, use a good amount---probably 2-3 tablespoons of dried herbs.

Your chicken should look a bit like this:Do not add water.cook on low for 8-10 hours. I put this on at 4am, and had it for lunch at noon. Then I took a 2hr nap!

The Verdict:This is a moist, delicious chicken that is company-worthy. It will fall apart when you take it out of the crock if you cook it as long as I did. If you would like a fancier presentation, keep an eye on it and check the doneness after 6 or 7 hours, then carefully remove with large tongs.Keep the garlic to serve alongside with some rice or potatoes and some fresh vegetables.To make broth: If you are fancy-pants, keep the crock drippings and the bones to make a lovely chicken broth.It's pretty easy -- just add about 8 cups of water to the pot, then slow cook on low overnight. In the morning, unplug and let it cool down completely. Using SUPER CLEAN hands (or food handler gloves), pick through and remove all the bones. Drain through a colander into a large pot to save the chicken broth.You can then make homemade chicken noodle soup!

Mmm, so excited for this one. It is a dressed up (but just as easy) version of a lemon pepper one I served most Sundays...Thank you also for the Indian Chicken a few days back. I bought garam masala forever ago and I don't even remember why, but now, I think it will get used up quick! It looks delicious and even fits my Hubby's South Beach rules on brown rice.

Hi there,of course do whatever feels right to you---but I have done a whole chicken without a drop of liquid a few times, and the chicken "makes" it's own liquid. If you are going to use chicken pieces, throw in a 1/2 cup of broth.

I made this for dinner, and it turned out great! And it was SO easy to take the meat off the bones - lots easier than when I buy a rotisserie chicken. Now I need to gather all of my recipes that start off with "meat from 1 roasted chicken..."

I made this for dinner with boneless/skinless breasts before reading the comments so I failed to put in extra liquid. Also I only had an orange, no lemons. It came out ok, a bit dry, but my kids ate it with ketchup (of all things) and it was done in 4 hours.

We just had this for dinner tonight and even my husband ate it and asked for more (who is a big, picky kid himself!) I made some mashed potatoes to go along with it, adding some of the garlic from the chicken. It really complemented the chicken without being too garlicky. I will definately be making this again. Thanks! :)

We just had the lemon chicken for dinner, with French Fries and butter beans. It was the most wonderful chicken - moist, tender, cooked through (I gave it just over 10 hours). My husband checked the slowe cooker constantly throughout the day, expecting it to explode without any liquid added. By the time it was done, there was lots of lemony chicken stock.

It was full of flavour, despite the fact that I forgot the rosemary. We dug out the old bush last autumn and I haven't planted its replacement yet. I didn't want to use dried rosemary. Maybe next time.

Super duper good! I used skinless, boneless thighs and added about 1/2 cup of broth, which in a way was maybe a little too much, only I scooped the broth out 25 minutes before dinnertime to make rice, so it worked out perfectly. (The rice on the bottom of the cooker did burn, though, I suppose because of the fat in the broth, so I'll make it on the stovetop next time.) I also added a splash of olive oil at the beginning of the cooking time for a little extra Greek flavor. I don't eat chicken (although I'm okay with broth) so instead of the meat I sprinkled chevre on my serving of rice (I would have used feta if we'd had it), and it was like something you'd have at a little sidewalk cafe in Greece.

I forgot to post and tell you how wonderful this recipe is!! It is delicious, and the chicken tastes juicy and soft. I will deffo be doing this again - this Tuesday even! Mr T is away for a couple of days until Tuesday and this will mean I don't have to worry about cooking when he arrives home - it'll all be done. Well done with this recipe, and Thank You. xx

I thought you'd like to know that this has become the husband's favourite chicken dish. I leave the skin on the chicken and slip the lemon slices, along with the garlic and rosemary, underneath the breast skin, down into the thighs and into the cavity.

My sister-in-law in Bavaria has impressed various dinner guests using skinless breast pieces and adding a cup of white wine.

It works just as well in a conventional gas oven on the slow cook setting.

I cooked this today & the smell was wonderful. However, I think I used too much lemons as it was a bit bitter but still tasted well enough for my family to pounce on it like wild animals. This I will make again for sure.

I made this recipe a couple years ago with slices of garlic and sprigs of rosemary tucked under the skin of the chicken. I put lemon and onion in the cavity and rosemary around the top of the chicken. It was so delicious! I did one the other night with garlic and sage that didn't turn out as well. The sage got a little bitter over the long cooking. A whole chicken in the crock pot is just so darn easy! :)Thanks for the great blog!!

I made this Sat night for a dinner party - it was really wonderful.Thanks!I used a mixture of sage, rosemary and thyme, and added some extra chicken thighs on top of the whole chicken (we were 6 grownups and 3 kids)

For this chicken, did you cook it breast side down like you did the other slow cook chicken, or did you just plop it in there sitting on its legs? Does it matter? I'm really excited to try this...I've been trying to find slow cooker recipes!

I just made this tonight and it was absolutely delish. Also ... this was THE first time I cooked something in a crock pot w/o adding any juice *shock*. WYB by the time it was done it had created juice enough to almost cover my 5 pound chicken! LOL Thanks!

I just made this today. I had a busy day (OK a busy week) and I knew no one in my family would be eating anything healthy unless I broke out the crock pot! This recipe was awesome. The chicken was so flavorful and it was so quick putting it together! I will definitely make this again...maybe even next week :) Thanks so much for a great recipe!!!

I made this today and wasn't happy with my results. I'm sure it's my bad and not a problem with the recipe. I definitely overcooked mine. I left in on low for 8 hours, then warm for another hour. I did skin it and didn't mind doing it one bit. However, like you said, if I were pregnant...no way. I couldn't deal with chicken at all during my pregnancy, let alone skinning a whole bird. I didn't eat chicken for a year after my kids were born (carrots, too, go figure...) and it's still not my favorite, even though my twins are 7 now. My husband loved this chicken but he loves all chicken. My daughter said it was too lemony, my son, well he's into pb&j these days. I am happy to have leftovers, cause I plan on making buffalo chicken wing soup. All our clients who came by today (we own a home-based business) commented on how wonderful it smelled. Next time, I will cook it for a shorter period of time!

It was nearly noon and someone called to remind me of the baby shower tonight. No gift, lots to do, I remembered your blog. I had everything needed to make this dish(I used frozen chicken breast). It was a huge success! Thanks again!

I put "whole chicken crock pot recipe" into google and your blog was like the 2nd thing that popped up. I just have to say you might be my new best friend. Just looking through all your recipes I am getting giddy about all the fabulous meals I am going to make. :)Starting with this one. Thanks!

Stephanie -- This is SOOOOOOO Wonderful! We've added it to our staple all the time recipes. I've got a huge rosemary plant in my garden and am happy to finally have a regular use for it. The house smells so heavenly when this is cooking. Thanks so much for sharing it.

I discovered your blog and this recipe when I was doing a search for cooking a whole chicken in a slow cooker. The chicken turned out quite delicious and fell right off the bone. I used the broth created and the leftover garlic and rosemary to make a wild rice mix. Our local grocer is having a sale on whole chickens, so I'm definitely going to try out some of your other recipes. Thanks!

Hi Missey, sure, you can use breasts, but the meat will not be quite as moist. I think I'd add some white wine or chicken broth to provide some moisture (1/2 cup or so) , and put a layer of foil down, and then the lid to ensure all of the juice stays in the pot and doesn't seep out through a vent hole or gap in the side.

I tried this with oranges instead of lemons today (my lemons were green, too!), and it was great. As I was making it, I thought for sure that a whole head of garlic was going to be ferocious! But the garlic turned out mellow and creamy. I fished the cooked garlic out of the broth to save for another day.

I put the chicken in breast-side down, and the breasts came out a little overcooked; maybe next time I'll try it the other way up.

My only complaint is that the rosemary leaves were like eating pine needles and we had to wipe them off.

I just came across your blog not too long ago. We've tried about 5/6 recipes and LOVED them all. This particular one sounds yummy, however, my husband doesn't like rosemary. Any suggestions for a substitution?

Stumbled on this because I had a whole chicken in the fridge and was bored with other ideas. IT WAS FABULOUS. I added some capers to the pot and cooked it on high for about 5 hours. I lifted out the dark meat onto a platter, then picked up the breast section onto a cutting board. I removed the bones from underneath (they just fell away) and sliced the breast after they cooled. Arranged the dark meat and white meat on a platter, then used a slotted spoon to get lemon and capers to top it all with. I fished out all the garlic cloves and saved them for later. This had almost no fat and was so tasty. Son loved all of it. I think the leftovers will be even better. Thank you for a great, easy economical meal.

I just made this yesterday and it was wonderful. Instead of the rosemary I used dried tarragon (I didn't have any fresh) and I could not believe how good it was!!! I have been using tarragon and dried cranberries or apricots in my chicken salad for about 10 years so I thought I would try it with this recipe. It made plenty of juice without needing to add liquids. I did have trouble removing the skin from the wings so I cut off the tips and used poultry shears to cut away as much skin as I could. If anyone has any suggestion on an easier way to get the skin off please reply.

Well, isn't this a great link discovering you this morning! I believe I need to visit your recipes and find more inspiration like this whole chicken idea! By the way, do you have the recipe for the rice pictured alongside the chicken? That looks just as tasty. Also, did you know that I just keep perusing the crock-pot section at the library, but this is better with everyone's testimonials! Keep up the work because you are funny to watch (peanut cluster video) and to read. My family thanks you for this website. Paula in Omaha, NE

I tried this with a <4# whole chicken (the smallest I could find in the store since I'm only cooking for two and we only have a 3qt crock). I added lemons, garlic, 1/2 a red onion (some outside and some in the bird), and sprigs of fresh dill. (there was no fresh rosemary in our store.) I skinned the chicken just like you did, and also rubbed black pepper, parsely, and dried rosemary on it.

I cooked it on high for 2 hours and low for 2 hours and the meat was just falling off. It was wonderful. I have plenty of juices, meat and garlic left to make soup in the crock for tomorrow! Thanks so much for the idea!

I tried this recipe last night, for lunch and dinner today. When I woke up the house smelled heavenly and the bird looked amazing. I left my skin on, and added paprika. I skipped the rosemary only because it's below freezing outside and I didn't have the will to go outside again. Next time, I'll add the rosemary. Fantastic recipe! I've already shared it (and your blog) with 3 of my friends!

Thanks so much, Stephanie! I, too, googled "Crock pot chicken" and your recipe came up... and I am so glad. I was wondering how to do away w/ the yucky-looking slow-cooked chicken skin, and found your way to do w/ out, meanwhile infusing wonderful lemon and garlic favor that everyone just loved. And... leftovers + chicken stock!Thanks again!

I loved this one but I modified it quite a bit. I stuffed the cavity with two quartered lemons, added a chicken broth mixture of 1/4 cup broth, 1/8 cup lemon juice, 1/8 cup of water 1 shot of vodka and a splash of red wine vinegar. I also added 1tbl of olive oil and crushed red pepper. Amazing results!! I love your blog.

I made this recipe last night - I added 1/2 orange to the lemon, garlic, rosemary. Turned out great -- husband thought the breast was a little dry (huff!) so next time I will put in breast side down. I saw another tip on this site about whole bird - will put on folded pie tin next time so bird is not sitting in juice, more like roasted on rack. Delish!

I made it last night. I cooked it for 10 hours. I don't think I've had meat like that, that fell apart from the bone. The other people that have commented that the meat just falls off the bone are right.

I would add a little more salt and black pepper next time. When I was rubbing it on the chicken, I only did 2-2.5 teaspoons, and it looked like too much. But I think I'd prefer a little more.

Made this with 7 chicken breasts instead, put about a cup of white wine in the bottom of the crockpot, but the rest was the same! It was great and everyone loved it for a nice holiday meal without all the fat!

I've made this several times with oranges. We've got an orange tree, and a rosemary bush that rivals Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors. I'm always looking for ways to use stuff out of my yard, but think I'll give the lemon a go next time.

I made this recipe as the first thing I have ever done in a crockpot and subsequently also the first thing I have made from your website. I am a student living alone in Berlin, Germany (I am from the US) and the crockpot seemed like a great idea for making larger meals and freezing them because I am very busy and don't have time to cook during the week. This chicken was AWESOME. I hate cooking meat because it is either under or overcooked, but it is so easy with a crockpot, I will definitely do it again and again. Thanks for having such great recipes available online. I am so excited to make many more.

We just had this for dinner, and it was delicious! My hubby gave it rave reviews, and everybody is right, the meat is exceptionally moist, and certainly does fall off the bone- I shook a drumstick, and 'plop!' I actually had to use a pair of slotted spatulas to get the bird out of the crock, it was so tender.I've never cooked a whole chicken before, and was pretty grossed out by it, so I tried to deal with it as little as possible. The next time I make it (and we WILL make this again!) I will go to the trouble of removing the skin before cooking it, it was nasty and mushy afterward and I ended up peeling it all off anyway, which wasted all my lovely salt and pepper. I think removing the skin would have also allowed more of the lemon and rosemary flavor to get into the meat itself- the flavor was slightly bland for me, but I didn't use enough rosemary perhaps.I did remove the seeds from my lemon slices, and my chicken was not bitter, so I would reccommend that. Also, I cooked my bird breast side down- all the broth that the chicken made seemed to have made the meat moist.I only cooked my chicken for 7 hours on low, glad I checked it when I did or I never would have gotten it out of the crock, it would have completely fallen apart!We had this with asparagus and garlic mashed potatoes (I used the garlic from the chicken) and it was very good. I'm a little leery of a lemon-rosemary flavored chicken broth, but rather than just waste it I think I'll save it for your orange chicken recipe my husband wants to try this week, and use it to make the rice, the flavors should be fine together.This site is great, I've found so many recipes I want to try! My favorite thing is that for the most part they all use 'real' food- not the packaged, processed junk I'm used to making (and trying very hard to get away from!) Our first child is 3 1/2 weeks old, and I'm trying to get some recipes for when I go back to work in 2 weeks so my husband doesn't have to beat his brains out trying to manage the little one AND have dinner ready when I get home. This website has been a Godsend, thank you! (And I love that it's all done with a splash of humor!)

I made this as my first slow cookery recipe ever and it came out delicious. The only thing I added was a little white wine on the bottom and it was so moist. I took the juices from the bottom and the cooked onions and added it to some brown rice....my husband was.raving about the chicken and brown rice and how much flavor it had. Thanks for this great recipe.

Wow! This was AMAZING! We made it just last week, the smell that came from the crockpot, wow! It was so moist and tender and once it was done and we tried to pick it up from the crockpot all the chicken fell off the bone! The chicken was almost covered in all of it's own juices. It was a huge hit with our family and left overs were just as great! Thank you for this yummy recipe, we will be making it again.

I put this in my crockpot this morning! I guess I was groggy... I forgot to add the garlic, doh! I hope the BF can add it when he goes home for lunch... I am still sooooo excited for dinner tonight, will let you know how it turns out!

Once again, you hit it out of the park! I didn't have a whole chicken, so I used 4 frozen boneless/skinless chicken boobs. I layered them 2 chicken per layer with the lemons and drizzled with just a little olive oil to make up for the lack of bone I guess LOL. You totally rock! It was amazing!

I just want you to know that I am so beyond excited about this recipe. I finally purchased a slow cooker and this is the first thing I am making! I am so nervous and anxious to get home and see how it is doing!

Made this for dinner yesterday. Used 10 chicken thighs I had on hand rather than a whole chicken. I pan fried the thighs (~ 3 mins per side) before putting them in the crock pot. I know, Steph doesn't like to cook food twice, but I think the thighs take on a deeper flavor if you do this. I deglazed the pan with a little white wine, which I then poured over the chicken. Cooked on high for 2 hours, then low for 2 hours. It was great. Probably didn't need to cook on high though, next time I'll try just low for 4-5 hours. Thanks.

I probably should have read all the comments first... I cooked 5 big breasts in 1/2 cup broth and 1 T mashed garlic(no heads onhand)And after 5 hours on LOW, I had broth covering the whole thing. I think the actual garlic cloves soak up much of the excess liquid. I will use actual cloves next time. Also, I find the chicken to be bitter, as well. I am going to search the internet to see if there is any way to mellow a bitter taste...And I, too, don't like the woodsy bits in there, so next time, I may bundle up the Rosemary and Lemons in a little cheesecloth baggie... I am going to try to shred the chicken and make a lemony white sauce to pour over it... like a lemon gravy, if you will. 4 hours in my crock next time, and no liquid should do it...I love the way the house smells tho...

I made this for the weekend with 1 whole chicken plus 2 additional bottoms. Cooked for about 9 hours plus 2.5 hours on warm. Fell apart a little more than I wanted it to, but boy was it delicious! next time I'll probably cook it a little less. Thank you!

My family and I liked the taste but it came out dry. I followed the recipe but left the skin on, added a splash of wite wine and cooked breast side down on low for 8-hours. The drum sticks fell off bu the rest held together long enough for me to remove with tongs and flip. I browned it under the broiler for less than two minutes and it looked great just wish it hadn't been dry.

Hi! I had a question about the lemon slices: do you ever find it makes the chicken bitter? I cooked whole lemon slices with chicken one and it did make it bitter, but maybe I did something wrong and there's a trick to doing it right?

I don't think you did anything wrong. Lemon peel does have a bitter flavor, especially if the lemon isn't uber-ripe (pretty squishy). If you aren't a fan of lemon zest, you might want to stick to just the lemon juice instead of the slices. Or wait until your lemons are really yellow and easy to squeeze.

I made this for visiting company on a day we had to be out all day and it turned out SO killer! We combined it with rice pilaf and the flavors went together beautifully. It was so delicious that my guest kept asking me how to make it and it was a little embarrassing to admit how easy it was.

I made this yesterday; altered as follows: Didn't have lemons in the house, so ommitted them. I rubbed the chicken with a mix of cinnamon, paprika, salt, pepper. Stuffed it with a quartered apple and a few garlic cloves. Topped with fresh sprigs of rosemary and thyme. Put on low for 8 hours - delish!!! P.S.: It was a small, 2lbs, chicken.

I cook mine from frozen all the time I do a ring of tinfoil at the bottom. I have never had a bad chicken no matter how I spice it up. I add fennel to this combintion it is fabulous. I also leave the skin on. Happy CHicken everyone!

Made this last night! Yum. I used skinned drumsticks (bone in but skinned by the butcher) and only one lemon. Added some water. Lots of rosemary. I threw the rosemary in as it was, and it was easy to remove from the pot when cooked. We had it with mashed sweet potato, broccoli, peas and broad beans (fava). I wouldn't have wanted any more lemon though.